


COVID-1965, an Outsiders Quarantine Fic

by botanicalTJ



Category: The Outsiders - All Media Types
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-04-09
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:00:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23456665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/botanicalTJ/pseuds/botanicalTJ
Summary: Disaster might be striking in Tulsa, but nothing can compare to seven greasers quarantined in one house.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 50





	1. Chapter 1

“Go! Everyone in the house, right now! _Go, go, go!_ ”

“Jesus, Darry, I’m going!” Pony had a half-eaten sandwich in his hands, his mouth full as he spoke. He yelped as Steve elbowed him from behind, but didn’t have a chance to glare before Two-Bit shoved him the rest of the way through the door. All the boys were either grumbling or cursing or laughing maniacally (in Two-Bit’s case). Darry was behind them all, frantically ushering everyone into the Curtis living room.

“What’s going on, Darry?” Soda frowned, his eyes over his shoulder to see if there was something chasing them. He was immediately distracted by Steve punching him in the shoulder, and the two boys fell to the ground, rolling around as they play-fought. Steve pinned Soda down by the shoulders, but Soda quickly got the upper hand, kicking Steve off of him with a laugh. “Cut it out!”

“He’s worried about what they said in the papers, man.” Dallas exhaled smoke in Darry’s face, earning himself a shove that barely fazed him. Darry plucked the cigarette out of the blonde’s hand and tossed it outside, his glare just daring Dallas to say a word about it. All he got was a scoff and Dallas flopped on the couch, clearly unconcerned about any of it.

“About the virus?” Johnny brought up the rear, walking over the threshold quickly so that Darry didn’t shut the door on him. He glanced at the oldest member of their group, an eyebrow disappearing under his bangs. “Is it really that bad?”

“We’re not taking any risks.” Darry shut the door and turned all of its locks, then stood in front of it, his arms crossed over his chest. “Starting right now, we’re in quarantine.”

Every pair of eyes in the room looked up at him, bewilderment written on the boys’ faces. A beat of silence, and then Steve was the first to pipe up. “And how long do you think _that’s_ gonna last, Dar?”

“As long as it takes.” The amusement in Steve’s voice had been clear, but Darry ignored it, instead walking forward to sit in his armchair. He sat up straight, figuring they’d all have questions about this new predicament. He was right, because as soon as he sat down, the living room became alive with voices.

“But _how_ long?”

“Guess my folks won’t mind…”

“What about food?”

“Do I still have to do homework?”

“You ain’t keepin’ me in this house, man.”

“Where’s everyone gonna sleep? Darry, we don’t have enough room to-”

“Okay, okay, listen.” Darry’s voice thundered over the rest of the noise, and everyone shut up quick. He cleared his throat, voice dropping to its normal volume now that he had everyone’s attention. “Soda, you’ll sleep with me. Johnny sleeps with Pony. Dallas, Two-Bit, Steve, y'all fight over the couch and the chair. Someone can take the floor. A buddy of mine at work brought some stuff over from his pantry…” Darry waved a hand towards the corner of the room, showing everyone a shelf full of canned and boxed food. “…and yes, you still have to do your homework.” He directed a pointed look at his youngest brother, ignoring the eye roll he got in return.

“Darry…” Two-Bit frowned, slowly sitting down on the couch next to Johnny. “I gotta go home to my mom and sister, I can’t just-”

“Already called ‘em.” Darry had, seemingly, thought of everything, because the next thing he did was grab a cardboard box from next to his chair. He hoisted it into his lap and opened it, revealing a large amount of soap in bar form as well as in bottles. Everyone in the room was staring at Darry like he’d gone crazy. He met each person’s gaze individually, then sighed, placing the box at his feet. “Listen… better this than any of us catching the virus. School’s closed anyways, work’s out for the next few weeks, we might as well take precautions.”

“Yeah, yeah… listen, man, this isn’t really my style.” Dallas stood up from the couch, already pulling another cigarette out of his pocket along with a lighter. He began stepping towards the door, but froze in place when Darry cleared his throat expectantly. The blonde turned to look at him, already glaring, but he didn’t have a chance to comment before Darry started speaking.

“If you leave now, you can’t come back in the house,” Darry stated calmly. All eyes were on him, once again shocked at the words leaving his lips. He’d never kicked any of their buddies out before, or banned them for that matter. However, he continued: “If you go out in public, you could be exposed to the virus, and then you’d expose all the rest of us, and who knows what’ll happen after that?”

He and Dallas stared each other down, each one daring the other to make a move. It was clear in Dallas’s face that he was having some conflict; he crashed at the Curtis place more often than not these days, and if Darry was really serious, it could leave him without anything to buddy around with for weeks. Several tense moments passed before a sigh left the greaser’s lips, and he sat back down without a word.

“Good.” Darry seemed satisfied with this outcome, and he stood up, once again addressing the whole room. “We’ll go a week, and then we’ll talk about what comes next. No one leaves this house unless it’s an emergency. You can go to the backyard if you need fresh air.” He paused for a moment, then looked directly at his brothers. “You two go gather all the extra blankets and pillows in the linen closet. I’ll bring down Dad’s old camping cot from the attic.”

Darry’s speech ended, and the three brothers got to work with the preparations for what would likely be the longest week of any of their lives.


	2. Chapter 2

"You're stupid."

  


"You're annoying.

  


"Well... you smell bad!"

  


"At least I can drive."

  


"Will you two shut up?" Darry groaned, pinching his brow as Steve and Ponyboy's voices invaded his ears. He reached behind him and dug out a chair cushion, throwing it in the boys' general direction. "Go play outside or something, I'm trying to watch a show here."

  


"Thought we couldn't go outside?" Steve mocked, his attempt at jest falling short in his annoyance. He bent his arm to throw the pillow right back, but one look at Darry's face made him hit Pony in the face with it instead. The younger boy yelped, his book falling from his hands and tumbling to the floor. Steve burst into laughter.

  


Pony huffed and stood up, snatching his book from the floor. "I'm gonna read in the backyard," he told his older brother, shooting Steve a glare as he stalked out of the room. The back door slammed as Pony left the house.

  


Darry exhaled a long sigh. His show was almost over and it was clear that he hadn't heard a word of it. He eyed Steve disapprovingly, clearly blaming him. "Ya know, you really oughta leave him alone every now and then, it ain't funny when you do it every-"

  


"Darry, we're out of hand sanitizer!" Darry was right in the middle of what promised to be a lengthy lecture, but Soda's shout from the kitchen snapped him right out of it. He got up from his armchair and walked quickly into the kitchen, not even thinking anymore about Steve's antics. His other brother was at the sink, scrubbing his hands.

  


"What do you mean we're out of sanitizer?" Darry walked over to the drawer where he'd stashed the many, many bottles he'd brought home, yanking it open. True to Soda's word, it was empty. "I just bought some, where the hell did it all go?"

  


"Captain Stupid decided to take a bath." Dallas stalked into the kitchen, making a beeline for the fridge and, subsequently, the beer. "Hey, anyone seen Johnny?" He didn't elaborate further on the previous matter, but it didn't take a genius for the statement to click in Darry's mind. He ignored the question. He slammed the drawer shut so hard he heard something crack and made an even faster walk to the bathroom, pushing open the door without even knocking.

  


Two-Bit gasped at being barged in on, but not as loud as Darry's "Two-Bit, what the hell is the matter with you?" The redhead stood in just his underwear, hovering over the bathtub that he'd filled as much as he could with hand sanitizer. He already had one foot in it, his face stricken with the knowledge that he'd been caught. Empty sanitizer bottles were strewn all over the bathroom floor.

  


"I'm getting clean!" Two-Bit didn't let Darry's murderous expression stop him, and he climbed completely into the tub. He raised an eyebrow at the other man and swiftly stripped the rest of his clothes, making Darry quickly turn away with a groan.

  


"You can't- that's not how it works!" Darry shouted, his face turned towards the hallway despite speaking to the man behind him. His teeth ground together, fists clenching at his sides. "Goddamn it, Two, I bought all the store had left and now it's all wasted!"

  


"We can reuse it!" Two-Bit argued, putting a generous amount of sanitizer on his head. He massaged it into his still-greased hair, his other hand rubbing the stuff into his chest. "It kills germs, right? So everyone can have a sit in the tub, and then we're decontaminated."

  


"I can't believe this, you're paying me back for every penny I spent on the stuff," Darry shook his head, daring to sneak a glare over his shoulder. He looked away as soon as he saw the sanitizer on Two-Bit's head, and stomped off before he could lose it. He slammed the bathroom door shut, not looking back on his way to the living room.

  


"Cranky?" Steve raised an eyebrow as he walked back in, but shut up as soon as he saw the look on Darry's face. Darry sat down in his chair again and began flipping through channels, practically fuming in his silence. Steve got up from the couch, heading towards the kitchen where Sodapop was making lunch, but a voice from the hallway stopped him.

  


"Guys?" Two-Bit hollered from behind the bathroom door, voice slightly muffled. "Hey, is it supposed to burn my-" He suddenly cut himself off in an ear-piercing shriek, one that clearly stemmed from pain. Darry didn't move a muscle, not even when Steve nearly collapsed across the room from laughing so hard.

  


"Sodapop, can you bring me a cup of coffee?" he called after a moment, his voice completely casual and only slightly louder to be heard over the shouting across the house. "Piping hot, if ya don't mind."

**Author's Note:**

> To be continued! Leave me some feedback ;)


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